Lost Memories
by bohemianbabe
Summary: What happens when you forget everything, including the person that you love? Third story in the Considerations series and sequel to Galena.
1. Chapter 1

Lost Memories  
by Beth Summers with help from Maria H (Tiger Eyes) who is my editor  
Rating: PG-13 for Language and a bit of sex.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except the girl Galena, (the  
brunette that is in Jesse's room.) the only other thing I own is the plot. Oh wait, Juliet Fox, Ashleigh Carter, and Shyla Rickers also belong to me. So does Kevin Taylor now that I think about it. Wow, now if only I could get Tribune to sell me the rest I'd be in perfect contentment.

Chap 1

Pain was definitely not a pleasurable feeling. Jesse decided as he laid on the bed in his room. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to hurt. His ability to mass and phase had kept him from having to deal with it, at least up till now. _If only I had Shal's feral instincts to sense danger_ he thought as he tried to sit up. He took a deep breath and suddenly felt an intense pain in his sides and chest.

"Damn, I must have cracked some ribs." he said aloud through the pain, as if talking to himself would do any good. He was surprised that he had woken up alone and in his own room.

Carefully, he laid back down, the pain was pretty bad and starting to give him a head ache. He thought for a minute trying to remember exactly what had happened. He had been out with a girl. _What the hell was her name? _He tried to concentrate but all he could remember was a blurry image of brown curls and a perfume that gave him an overwhelming desire to pull her into his arms and rip off all her clothes.

_Where were we? A club. Whoever she was she had dragged me to a club to celebrate something. If I could only remember what we had been celebrating or how I got hurt._

He closed his eyes and tried to remember what had happened, but instead fell back to sleep.

A couple of hours later the sweet smell of jasmine filled the bedroom. The flowery smell stirred Jesse back to consciousness. He inhaled as deeply as his injuries would allow him. He let the smell relax him, as if instinctively knowing this woman meant him no harm.

Quiet footsteps came from the side of his bed. He slowly opened his eyes to see who was in the room. As everything came slowly into focus he saw a tall, thin girl busying herself with a pile of laundry that had apparently just come out of the drier. As she took a shirt and folded it she began to mouth the words to a song. When she picked up a stack of folded clothes to put them away she danced across the room instead of walking. Her outfit which consisted of a pair of almost low rise yoga pants and a lycra halter accented each move she made and her brown curls swayed with her body.

"I thought maids wore dresses." Jesse said

The girl startled and then looked over at the bed. "Welcome back to the land of the living." she said as she sat down next to him on the bed. She started to reach for his hand, but quickly put her hands in her lap.

"Yeah, I think it was the overwhelming scent of your perfume." He bit his tongue as he realized how what he had said must have sounded to the girl.

"It doesn't bother you does it?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"No, it's fine."

The girl relaxed and flashed a bright smile

_Damn She's got a pretty smile _Jesse thought as he stared at her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked her smile quickly fading

"A little grungy, I can't breathe deeply, and I need something to eat."

"Poor baby, I can give you a new shirt and something to eat, but you'll have to wait for Bren to get back before you can take a shower. I would do it myself, but I don't think I could hold you up if you passed out." the girl said flashing her brilliant smile again

" A new shirt would be a good start"

"O.K. Let me help you sit up."

"Just be careful"

"I will." The petite brunette slowly eased Jesse into a sitting position and then unbuttoned his shirt. As her hands brushed against his skin the pain lessened. It was like a soothing balm had been spread over his aching ribs. She got up to get a clean shirt out of the closet and brought it over to the bed.

"I know this is one of your good silk shirts, but it will feel much cooler against your skin than anything else you have." She carefully helped him pull on the shirt and began to button it up for him.

Jesse caught her hands and stopped her movements. "Your hands have some kind of affect on the pain. I'm hoping you won't mind using what ever power you have to help it lessen."

"Alright, I guess, but don't tell Adam. You know he hates it when I do this"

She closed her hazel eyes and put her hands on his shoulders. The instant her skin touched his the stiffness was gone. She ran her hands along his sides down to his waist. Instantly his breathing became easier. She let her hands linger on his waist for a second and Jesse thought he could see a slight smile cross her face, then she opened her eyes and pulled her hands away.

"How is that?" she asked in a barely audible voice

"A hell of a lot better. I think I may actually be able to live through the day. Now, why doesn't Adam like you to do this?"

"Jess, don't you remember? When I do it, I take the pain from the person. I only feel the pain for a second or so before it's gone, but I do feel it. That time Brennan was shot the pain I absorbed took a lot out of me, and then when I healed Shalimar it nearly killed me. Adam hasn't let me do it since then. Then of course there is the fact that it is not good for my health to be doing this, not with the amount of un-stabilization I'm at."

"Look, I really don't remember much right now. I don't even know what happened to me. All I can remember is going to a club with some girl, I think it was you by the way, and then it all fades to black." He sighed as he realized how short he was being. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to understand what happened to me."

"You did get a pretty bad hit on the head. We were at the club about six weeks ago. Some GSA agents tried to take us in. You put up a hell of a fight, but one of them managed to keep you from using your powers somehow. They shot down a couple of rafters which fell on you. Fortunately the others showed up and helped me deal with the agents and get you out of there. God, I was so scared that you were dead." She reached up and gently brushed his blonde hair out of his face and then leaned in and softly kissed his forehead. "I don't know what I'd have done if I'd lost you, Jesse."

"Thanks." he answered, not quite sure of what to say to the strange girl. "I have one more question though."

"Alright, but this is the last one I'm answering before you go back to sleep."

"Who are you?"

The girl jumped up and ran out of the room crying and hollering for Brennan.

Meanwhile.

"How much longer is Adam going to be gone?" Brennan asked as Shalimar stepped out of the lab.

"Only another day or two. He's bringing Dr. Rickers back with him too."

"I thought that was the plan all along. Why else did we spend so much time in the lab working on that formula if it wasn't to get Dr. Hottie here for him."

"Brennan!" Shalimar laughed and playfully hit him. "She is pretty, but Adam is after her mind not her body. I don't think he's ever going to consider dating a woman that much younger than him."

"You're probably right." He paused. "Galena's calling for me. I'd better go see what's the matter."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Brennan came in and found the petite brunette by the meditation pool crying. "Galena, what's the matter?" he asked frantically as he ran over to the girl. With Adam out of town for some convention he was the one in charge of taking care of the others and right now Galena was scaring the hell out of him.

"Jesse woke up earlier." Galena sobbed as she hid her face in the chest of the dark haired man.

"But, Galena, that's good." he answered, slightly confused. "He's been out of it for six weeks. It's no reason to cry."

"Brennan, he remembers you and Adam, I know because he just accepted what I said when I mentioned your names. I think he probably remembers the girls, but he doesn't know who I am." Galena raised her tear filled eyes to Brennan's "My own fiancé has no clue what my name is, much less how he's supposed to feel about me." Galena answered as her body shook from another bout of sobbing.

"Galena, I know it hurts, but the memory loss is normal and Adam is sure that everything will come back to him over time." Brennan said as he wrapped his arms tighter around the slim girls' shoulders.

"What if he never remembers me? It was such a long shot for him to fall in love with me once, I'm not sure that I can believe that it'll happen again."

"Galena, I know Jesse, if he fell in love with you once he can fall in love with you again. Just remember what Adam told us before he left. Jesse has to stay calm, if he gets upset the amnesia will take that much longer to reverse itself. We can't tell Jess anything that has a major significance in his life. You can't tell him that you are engaged to him. He either has to remember or fall in love with you again, which I know he will. You're too special for him to let slip through his fingers."

"I just don't want to loose him Brennan. Besides you're biased." Galena said and began to cry again.

Brennan let the girl stay in his arms and cry while he gently stroked her head and whispered reassurances to her.

_Poor girl. _Brennan thought as he held the girl close. _She falls in love with the one person she thinks she can never get, wins him and then looses him. It isn't fair she's the only member of my step family who has any kind of heart. Hell, I think of her as a little sister not a step cousin. It's so damn wrong for her to be hurt like this.  
_  
Brennan was determined to calm the girl down. It had been weeks since she had taken care of herself and it was beginning to take a toll on her. After an hour or so, Galena became quiet and Brennan realized that she'd fallen asleep. Carefully he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom she had begun to share with Jesse, where he laid her out on her bed.

Jesse tried to relax as Shalimar finished the medical examination. Shalimar had come to his room when she heard Galena hollering for Brennan. When she saw he was awake she helped him to the lab so he could be examined. He had tried to ask her about the girl who had been in his room earlier, how it had scared him when she ran out of the room. Her reaction had made it obvious that he was supposed to remember her, but it was hard to think straight.

"Alright" Shalimar said when she finally finished. "Now we can talk."

Jesse carefully sat up as Shalimar joined him on the exam chair.

"The girl who was in my room when I woke up, who is she?"

"Galena, Galena Varren. She joined us about two years ago. she's Bren's step-cousin and the only member of his step-family that actually liked him."

"Galena." Jesse said, testing the name to see if it brought any memories to the surface.

"Yeah, Galena. She's pretty close to you, or she was before the accident."

"Shal, come on, even a close friend wouldn't react quite the way she did if all you couldn't remember was their name."

"She's very sensitive, Jesse. Especially when it comes to you. I think it would be a good idea for you to spend some time with her."

"I will, Shal."

The room was silent for a moment as the two sat there enjoying the feeling of being together again.

"Shal," Jesse said breaking the silence, "you and Adam know more about this stuff than I do. What are the chances that I'll get my memory back? Right now I can only remember flashes of the past two and a half years."

"The chances are excellent. Adam said that once you woke up, if there was any memory loss, it might take a while, but you would get most, if not all of your memories back. Emma can help you get them back quicker. Galena probably can too, but Adam is too scared to let her do too much with her powers."

"So there is a chance that I might not be able to remember everything?"

"Jess, that chance is minimal. I can almost guarantee that everything will be all right."

"Shal, I want to remember everything now. Especially about Galena. I feel horrible about hurting her."

"Don't worry, Jess. She is happy enough just to have you back. I know that you feel bad, but trust me she'd rather rebuild it all than loose it all. Next to Brennan, you are one of the most important people in her life, more so than the rest of us." she paused, hoping that she had not said too much. "Now I'm ordering you to go get some rest. I'll send your nurse to you in a little while with some supper."

"Shal, I want to eat with the family. I can't remember the last time when I sat at that table with every one."

"Jesse, that is a horrible pun!" she laughed slightly. "I know that you want to eat with us, but you need your rest. Besides, it will give you a chance to spend some time with Galena."

"Alright, Mom, I'll go to my room." Jesse said as he stood up with a faint trace of his old smile on his face.

Shalimar smiled for what felt like the first time in ages. _Damn it's nice to have him back _she thought as she watched the blonde walk out of the room. _If he wasn't in so much pain I'd have to hit him for that last remark though_. Shalimar turned and made her way toward the room she shared with Brennan.

Later that evening.

Galena made her way into the kitchen to help Shalimar get dinner ready. She was feeling slightly better after having taken her nap, but the last thing she wanted was to deal with the feral's over the top concern.

Shalimar smiled slightly when Galena came into the kitchen. "So he's awake now. You must be feeling a bit better about things."

"He can't remember me." Galena shrugged as she started to chop the vegetables that Shalimar pushed towards her. "What are me making for dinner tonight?"

"Vegetable beef soup." Shalimar stirred the beef cubes she had in the skillet. "I thought it might be a nice quick meal for all of us. Besides, Jess needs to take it easy on what he eats. We don't want him to overload."

"Why are the bed trays out?"

"Because you are going to be eating with Jesse in his room tonight." the feral's eyes darted over to the girl. "He needs to take it easy for a few days, and you need to get used to the way things are right now. The best way to make things better is if you two spend some time together."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Galena knocked softly on the door as she balanced one tray on her hand and the other on her leg.

"Hey." Jesse said as he opened the door. The scent of jasmine once again filled his senses and he felt a strong desire to kiss this girl. Why that didn't bother him was something he would have to think about. "Let me take one of those,"

Cautiously he kneeled down and picked up the tray that Galena had precariously balanced on her knee.

"Thanks." she said and stepped into the room. "I know you wanted to eat with the family, but you still need to take it easy, and I wanted to do something to make-up for my running off earlier."

"It's alright, Galena. Shal explained everything to me. I hate that I hurt one of my friends, but what happened to me wiped out my memories of the last couple of years."

"She explained everything? Adam told us to take it slow and let everything come back to you naturally." Galena said in surprise. "He doesn't want to shock you with too much information."

"Galena, it isn't that much of a shock that we're close friends. You've obviously care for me. We also are close enough friends to eat here and talk for a while."

"Wait, Shalimar told you that we were just good friends?"

"Yeah. There isn't supposed to be something more between us is there?"

Galena had to force herself not to flinch at the question. "No, it's just that while I was taking care of you, everyone started to call me your "wife". I guess that I just got it in my head. You and I have always had a great, close relationship and I guess it can't hurt to admit that when I first came here I had a bit of a crush on you."

"They were probably just trying to keep things from getting too tense. I do want to thank you for taking such good care of me, though."

"It was an easy task. The only thing I didn't do was the I.V.s. You were out for so long that we had to use them to make sure you got some nourishment."

"You don't like needles do you?"

Galena smiled as he said it since he had been the only one she told about her fear of needles. "No I never have. I made everyone else do that task."

"I hope you didn't let Bren do it. I think he specializes in causing his patients pain."

"Don't worry. Adam told him he wasn't allowed to come near you with a needle." Galena laughed, flashing once again the gorgeous smile that messed Jesse up almost as badly as her jasmine perfume.

They sat down and began to eat the bowls of soup that Galena had brought.

" So Galena, at the club, I remember that we were celebrating something. However, I've tried and tried to remember what, but I can't."

"Jess, it was just a stupid celebration." Galena said as she forced herself to keep her tone even. She unconsciously rubbed the ring finger of her left hand. She missed wearing her engagement ring. It was a stroke of pure luck Jesse hadn't seen it earlier that day. It was hard to not wear the ring that she loved so much, but she would deal with it. "We'd just helped Adam figure out some kind of chemical that dissolves a bunch of different metals."

"So we went clubbing to celebrate that?"

"Yeah. I was tired of being cooped-up in Sanctuary so I dragged you out to a club to celebrate. It was more of a celebration of our freedom from the lab than anything else. No one else really wanted to go, they were all too tired."

Jesse stirred the bowl of soup on his tray and scared off into space, trying to remember the events that Galena had described. For a second he could almost remember feeling frustration with Adam and a desire to escape.

"Jesse?" Galena asked snapping him out of his trance. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I was just trying to remember the stuff that you were telling me."

"Don't try too hard, Jess. It will all come back soon." She fought against the desire to pull him into her arms and kiss him.

"Galena, I don't want to wait for everything to come back in a few weeks, I want to know all of it now."

"Jesse forcing yourself to remember could cause more harm then good. Come on, let me help you." Galena said as she moved to where she could sit behind Jesse on the bed. It was a risk to her own health and she knew it, but her love for him was already making her do things that she normally would not.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her small hands were gently laid on Jesse's head and she slowly moved them down to his shoulders. For a minute, Jesse felt a rush of memories. He tried to focus on the flurry of images that flashed through his mind, but only managed to grab hold of a few before Galena moved her hands and opened her eyes.

"Did it work?" she asked in a voice that barely rose above a whisper. She felt slightly guilty that she had defied Adam's orders, but if she had managed to reach her goal it would be something else she was capable of .

"A little. I can remember the day you moved in, and a few other things."

"That's good, Jesse. Exactly what can you remember?"

"I can remember the time the six of us went out to eat at Bella Noche. You ordered spaghetti and the sauce ended up all over the white dress you were wearing, Then I spilled both our glasses of wine on it when we were toasting something."

"I never did get those stains out of that dress." Galena said laughing. It hurt that he couldn't remember that that night had actually been their first date, but it was a start.

"I'm sorry for ruining your dress. I hope I paid you for it."

"Actually not too long before we were at the club you bought me a new dress. It is so beautiful. I have it in our, my room if you want to see it."

"Galena, you said our room. Are we dating or something?"

"Yeah. I mean we dated for six months before the incident at the club, and we've shared a room for nearly as long. Adam wanted you back in your old room when we moved you out of the lab. He felt that it would be better for you."

"I knew there had to be a reason you were so upset when I couldn't remember you." he took in a deep breath. She was not going to be easy to deal with, but at least he knew why he felt the way he did about her. "Galena, I don't want to hurt you, but I think we should hold off pursuing our relationship until I have everything figured out. I don't know anything about you right now, and I can't be with someone I don't know."

Galena struggled to keep her voice calm as she spoke. "I'd better go now, Jess. I really need to finish some work before I go to bed." Galena said as she stood up. "Will you be alright with out me?"

"Galena, please don't leave. I don't want to hurt you. That's why I need to wait before I get involved with you."

"Jess, I really need to finish up this work. I'll come check on you before I go to bed." Galena said as she took the trays and empty dishes out of the room.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit. _Jesse thought as he watched Galena leave._ I try to not hurt her, by letting her know that I don't think I am ready for a relationship and I still manage to hurt her because I can't remember what's happened over the last year. Why does it not surprise me that I'm still single while Bren has Shal and Emma has a new guy every other week? I'm going to end up like Adam. Damn, I can't say that. The guy's been more of a father to me than my real dad ever was, and here I am criticizing his life. I've really got to remember everything before I hurt anybody else. I guess I'd better get some sleep so I can eat in the dining room tomorrow._

Jesse stood up, pulled back the sheets, stripped down to his black boxers, and climbed into his bed. As his head hit the pillow he could smell the scent of jasmine where Galena's perfume had rubbed off when she had changed the sheets earlier. For the first time that day the flowery scent didn't relax him, instead it agitated him and kept him awake.

When Jesse finally managed to fall asleep he was bombarded with dreams that kept him from being able to find the deep sleep he'd been hoping for.

In every dream Galena seemed to be the subject. First she was on a bar dancing and stripping. Her clumsiness made it clear that she was drunk. Slowly the scene morphed into a huge banquet hall where they were ball room dancing. Her gorgeous tan skin was accented by the soft baby blue of her strapless dress. Next she was wearing baby blue again, but this time it was a skimpy teddy and short robe instead of a formal dress. Jesse could practically feel her lips against his as the events of a very pleasurable night played through his head. Finally he saw himself on bended knee in front of the girl. He was holding an open jewelry box and reciting the proposal from _Runaway Bride_, Galena's favorite movie. Just as she leaned forward to take the box and kiss him Jesse woke up. The blurred images of his dreams were impossible to remember exactly. He had a faint recollection of a bar, ball room dancing, and a night of making love, but not much else.

The only things he could clearly remember was that through it all there had been the scent of jasmine, and she had worn it just for him.

Down the hall, in the bedroom that she had once shared with Jesse, Galena sat on her bed holding a jewelry box that contained her perfect engagement ring, an emerald cut ruby with diamonds surrounding it, in one hand and a bottle of jasmine perfume in the other. She had just taken a shower and cleaned the flowery smell off her body, but instead of following her nightly tradition and putting more on she put the bottle of perfume, the other jasmine scented shower products, and the box in a drawer and closed it. She then fell across the bed and cried herself to sleep.

Meanwhile.

Shalimar and Brennan were sitting in the computer lab waiting on a call from Adam.

"You really think it was a good idea to make them eat together tonight?" Brennan asked as he kissed Shalimar's cheek.

"She needs to accept the situation. We both know that he needs a chance to recover, but she wants things to go back to normal right now."

"Fine." Brennan shrugged and reached to press the accept button as the vid call came in. "What do you say we surprise Adam just a bit and not tell him?"

"Fine." Shalimar nodded as he pressed the button. "Hey Adam, Emma, how is the conference going?"

"Things are going well." Adam answered. "We got the formula to Dr. Rickers and she has turned it into her superiors."

"What is she like?" Brennan asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Pretty from what I hear."

"She is attractive." Emma answered. "She is also very intelligent."

"Do you know when you are going to be home again?" Shalimar asked as she pushed back a strand of her blonde hair.

"We will be in tomorrow afternoon." Adam answered. "Dr. Rickers will be coming with us. How is our patient doing?"

"He's good. All vitals are looking fine." Shalimar answered honestly. "I guess we will let you get back to your conference now."

"We'll see you tomorrow." Emma smiled and ended the phone conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Early the next morning, before anyone else was awake, Galena went into Jesse's room. She had promised herself that she would check on him before she went to bed, but after what he said last night, she did not have the guts to go back into his room. _For all I know he'd have asked me to leave Sanctuary_. She thought as she stared at his sleeping form. _Damn he looks good when he's asleep. I'd almost forgotten how much._

Galena walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. She brushed the hair off his forehead and softly kissed the lips that had not so long ago kissed hers. Seeing Jesse lying in the bed made Galena yearn to climb in beside him. She had not slept well without him, and it did not help that she was still wearing her night gown. Galena's common sense lost the battle as she crawled into the bed. Instinctively she lay as close to Jesse as possible. She closed her eyes and promised herself that she would get up in five minutes. Galena relaxed as she felt his bare skin through her night gown, and she could feel his breathing as she laid her head on his chest. Before she could stop it, she let his steady heartbeat lull her to sleep.

Jesse stirred when he felt the warmth of another person lying next to him. Even though he didn't know who was in the bed he instinctively put his arms around the person and pulled them closer to him. Relaxed by the presence of the person lying next to him, Jesse drifted back to sleep.

An hour and a half later.

__

It's not like Galena to be late for a workout. Brennan thought as he walked down the hall looking for his cousin. _I just hope she hasn't done anything stupid. _Brennan walked by Jesse's room and, finding the door open stepped in to find his cousin asleep in the arms of her former lover.

_The little idiot! She must have told him something about their relationship_. Brennan walked over to the bed and roughly woke up the sleeping girl. "Galena! Wake up!"

"Brennan?" Galena asked, fighting to focus her sleepy eyes as she rubbed them. "Am I late for my work out or something?"

"Galena, get out of that bed and go into the hall."

"Alright." Galena answered, confused at her cousin's rough tone. She climbed out of the bed and followed him out of the room.

"What the hell did you tell him?!" Brennan demanded as he closed the door to Jesse's bed room.

Galena looked down guiltily at her feet, finally remembering that she was not supposed to be in bed with Jesse. "I didn't tell him anything about us, until he asked me directly when he remembered something."

"Galena, you and I both know that he's not going to remember anything, especially about you, for a while"

"Bren, I used my powers to help him." Galena confessed

"Have you completely forgotten what Adam told you? You are not supposed to use your powers, it's too dangerous." Brennan said loudly.

"Bren, I just wanted to help Jesse. He hates not being able to remember anything, and I can't tell the man I love no." Galena said, her deep hazel eyes filled with tears. "I want him to get better as quickly as possible."

"Galena, you've got to learn to be patient. Your powers are too unstable for you to use them frequently. If you get stuck in that trance you go into when you use them we won't be able to bring you back." Brennan reminded her, his voice full of worry. "I can't chance loosing you, not so soon after getting you back."

"I just want to help him, Brennan." Galena said as her cousin put his arms around her small form.

"I know, Galena, we all want to help him, but you've got to be careful. You don't want to help him to get his memory back just in time for him to speak at your funeral."

"I'll be careful, Brennan, I promise."

"It's okay, Galena, it's really okay." Brennan said as he once again found himself comforting his cousin. _Damn it Jess. _Brennan thought _You've been messing up my cousin's mind since she met you. First she thinks she has no chance with you, then you date her for months and end up asking her to marry you. It figures the night you took her out to celebrate your engagement she loses you. The poor girl loses almost every good thing in her life. Any other bastard who hurt her would die a slow and painful death at my hand, but I can't even say something to you._

"Brennan?" Shalimar said as she stepped up.

Brennan turned to look at his wife and used his other arm to pull her into an embrace next to Galena.

_Something must be wrong with Jesse_. Shalimar thought as she let her husband hold her close. _I'd better call Adam soon. I'd hate for them to come home thinking everything is fine if it isn't._

Jesse stepped out of his room to see three of his team mates standing together in the hall.

Galena had her head buried in Brennan's chest, and was obviously upset about something. Shalimar didn't appear to be upset, but was allowing Brennan to hold her tight.

_Damn, they all seem to be emotional these days. I guess I threw everyone for a loop when I woke up, or probably more so when I was in that incident at the club. I just hope Galena isn't angry with me for everything. _Jesse could not help but feel guilty about the trouble that he knew he must have caused over the past few weeks. "Guys shouldn't we be getting breakfast instead of standing out in the hall crying?" he asked the group that stood in front of him.

"Jess?" Shalimar asked, startled at his voice. When she saw that he was really there she walked over to him and put her arms around him. "When I saw Bren and Galena I thought that something had happened to you."

Jesse pulled the blonde girl close, sensing her need for reassurance that he was indeed there and alright. "No, Shal, I'm fine. You three don't look so good though."

"It's my fault. Brennan and I got into an argument, and I lost control of my emotions and started crying. My big cousin can't stand to see me cry so he was just trying to take care of me." Galena said as she wiped her eyes.

"Alright, if you're ok why don't we all go get something to eat?" Jesse said as he quickly exchanged a look with Brennan.

The others quickly agreed and had soon finished preparing breakfast. They sat down at the table in what, over the years, had become their normal seats. Shalimar on the side that would have been at Adam's right if he'd been there and her husband sat next to her.

Jesse sat across from Shalimar, and after a minute of hesitation Galena took her seat next to him. She would never feel right about taking Adam or Emma's place and the guest seat made her feel cold. Other than Adam's place there were three empty seats. The one at the foot of the table had always been reserved for guests and normally remained empty.

The one next to Brennan was Emma's, and the one across from where Emma sat was the seat that Shalimar's cousin Juliet had once occupied. They all knew that no one else could take the place of the girl who had given up not only her place at the table, but her own life just three years before to ensure that they would not be found by one of the many formidable enemies the team had made.

Jesse had learned over a long period of time not to look at Juliet's empty place. He had almost been closer to the girl than Shalimar, and her death had been partly his fault. Instead of avoiding looking at the unoccupied end of the table he glanced over at it and had to take a deep breath to avoid crying. When he inhaled he realized that Galena was no longer wearing the jasmine scented perfume that he had begun to acquaint her with.

Shalimar noted the look on Jesse's face when he looked over at the one chair that would permanently remain empty. _When Juliet sat there Jess and Bren would argue over who would be the first Fox girl to get married. They argued about it every night until they day of my wedding. Damn Jess had such a schoolboy crush on that girl. I was starting to wonder if he'd ever find a woman to share his life with, and now that he has found her she may be ripped away from him. It seems as if everything is against him right now. _She thought wistfully as she twisted the golden band that marked her as Brennan's wife. "So what are everyone's plans for today?" she asked trying to remain cheerful.

Jesse noted her false tone of cheerfulness and tried to help her keep the conversation light. "I plan on trying to get into the computer lab for a while and making sure Brennan hasn't messed up the systems."

"That might not be a good idea, Jess. You changed your passwords the day of the accident." Galena spoke up. "No one knows what they are now, and if you put in the wrong one you could totally crash the system yourself."

"Galena is right, Jess. You'd better not try to work on the computers until you get your memory back." Brennan said in agreement with his cousin.

"I'm not allowed to do anything am I?" Jesse asked in disgust. He had barely been conscious for eighteen hours, but he was ready to do something.

"You could do the cooking and cleaning." Shalimar teased "No one will object to that."

Galena began to lose focus on the conversation. She could hear the laughter in her friend's voices, but didn't understand what they were talking about. As Shalimar reached across the table to playfully hit Jesse for a remark he made Galena saw a flash of gold on her friends left ring finger. Galena's eyes dropped to her own left hand. The sparkling ring had been removed and put away the previous day.

Brennan put his arm around Shalimar and pulled her close. The action made Galena suddenly feel cold as she remembered Jesse doing the same thing with her. Sitting so close to him she could smell his shampoo. It was almost as familiar to her as the jasmine scented bath collection she had used for months. It felt so weird for her not to smell like the strong flowers after wearing the scent for so long.

"Galena?" Shalimar asked startling the other woman. "You alright?"

"Yeah, Shal. I was just thinking." Galena answered in the most cheerful voice she could fake.

"Just try to stay with us next time. We've had enough people floating around in space." Brennan said as he tried to make eye contact with his cousin. She might be engaged to Jesse, but Brennan was the only one who could read her eyes.

Knowing what her cousin wanted Galena made sure their eyes didn't meet when she spoke. "Does any one know when Adam and Emma are coming home?"

"They should be in this afternoon, and they're bringing a guest. Dr. Rickers is coming back with them." Shalimar answered.

"Shyla Rickers? Isn't she the genetic scientist who started to fool around with the space-time continuum?" Jesse asked.

"That's the one. Adam met her at the conference he and Emma are attending, and she wanted to come meet us." Shalimar responded, it would be safer not to tell Jesse the real reason that the scientist was coming.

"Why would she want to meet us? None of us have worked on the space-time continuum theory." Galena questioned, she had caught onto Shalimar's game.

"Dr. Rickers has done some experiments, and she thinks she may be able to stabilize our mutancy genes." Shalimar answered, her method for giving Jesse the information he needed was horribly acted, but at least she was protecting him from the truth.

"Then there is the fact that she is a natural mutant." Brennan added.

"Natural? I didn't realize that was possible." Galena asked in amazement.

"Adam didn't realize it either, but she is." Shalimar said, her voice revealing her excitement about meeting the doctor as well as a slight bit of worry.

"Why did a geneticist get involved with the space-time stuff?" Galena asked, it was one question that had never been answered before and even now she doubted that it could be answered.

"When her brother was on his deathbed he told her she had to preserve the continuum. Everyone else thought he was crazy, but she took him seriously, and began to study the few theories available." Jesse explained.

Brennan tried not to laugh, but couldn't help himself. "I think I would have gone with the others."

"She formulated the ripple affect theory six months ago. She said it was like playing six degrees of separation with the universe." Jesse continued. "I guess the sad thing is that I can remember that better than I can remember anything that has happened to our group."

"Who knows what parts of your mind were affected. As for the ripple theory, I don't think it's too far fetched." Shalimar said quietly. "We've met new mutants who could go back in time, and all of them were worried about the continuum. Besides, I think you're forgetting that Juls was a believer in it."

Seeing his wife's expression when she mentioned Juliet made Brennan feel like he'd been slapped. _Why did I have to joke about it? I know it's been three years since Juls sat at this table, but I should have remembered. _Brennan looked across the table at Jesse, who had closed his eyes to keep from showing the tears that had filled them. _Not only do I hurt Shal, but I have to say something to upset Jess. If he never remembers anything Galena can blame it all on me. I'd deserve to have her angry with me._

"Shal, Jess," Brennan said softly.

"It's alright, Bren. I know that we've started to forget the details." Shalimar answered.

Brennan glanced over at Jesse who gave him a weak smile of reassurance. Jesse would never say a word about how he really felt.

Seeing Jesse hurt made Galena want to put her arms around him and hold him close, the way she had done so many times before. It had been a private thing for her to comfort him, one that the others probably knew nothing of.

"So, I guess we'd better straighten this place up." Brennan said lightly.

"Yeah, I don't want Dr. Rickers to think we're complete slobs." Galena agreed, thankful her cousin was trying to lift the somber mood that hung over the group.

"We're not complete slobs!" Shalimar protested. "Sanctuary is spotless, Jesse is awake, and Brennan is going to do the dishes."

"Wait a minute! That sounds like a job for one of you ladies" Brennan said in response to his wife's decision.

"I don't see any ladies here." Galena teased.

"I'll do the dishes. Shal and Galena aren't going to let me do much else." Jesse volunteered.

"I didn't say you couldn't do house work. You can get a room ready for Dr. Rickers, scrub the kitchen and bathroom floors, and do all the cooking." Shalimar teased.

"No way are you going to treat us men like that. We're going to draw the assignments out of a hat." Brennan decided.

"Alright, I'll set it up." Galena quickly agreed.

She wrote out the chores and they drew the papers. After a brief argument when Brennan got all the cooking, they separated and went to work


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I see they managed to keep it spotless here while we were gone." Adam said as he walked into Sanctuary with Emma and Dr. Shyla Rickers a step behind.

"From the way you described them I was expecting to see piles of laundry and used dishes." Dr. Shyla Rickers laughed.

"Shalimar probably spent the morning making Brennan and Galena clean up. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd tried to wake Jesse up so he could help with the work." Emma said smiling.

"Lets take Shy-Dr. Rickers to her room, and then she can meet the others." Adam suggested.

"Actually I wanted to see Jesse and Galena first, if that is alright with you." Shyla replied.

"Of course, Emma, lead Dr. Rickers to Jesse's room. I'll go take her suitcases to the guest room." Adam instructed and walked off.

"Come on, Jesse's room is just down the hall, and Galena will probably be there with him." Emma said as she led the other woman down the hall.

The two women walked to Jesse's room and as they approached the door Dr. Rickers tried to pick up on the emotions in the room. Since her powers were natural they were more developed than those of the Mutant X team, and she often used them to read some of her patients emotions so she would know how they would react to any news she might have. In stead of feeling the grief she was expecting Dr. Rickers picked up on a very sexual dream. _'Alright so the poor girl fell asleep while she was sitting with him and is in the middle of a dream. I feel even worse for the poor thing now.'_

Shyla and Emma quietly stepped into the room. Emma was surprised to see that Galena's chair had been moved away from the bed.

"His fiancé isn't with him?" Shyla asked.

"Apparently not. She must have gone to get something to eat. Food and sleep are the only ways to get her to leave his side these days. When we first moved him in here she'd sleep on the bed next to him so she wouldn't have to leave." Emma said quietly as she walked over to the bed. She gently sat down next to Jesse and took one of his hands in hers.

Shyla smiled at the affection the woman held for her friend. '_She has been so strong for everyone even though she can't show them how scared she is.'_

"Hey, Em." Jesse said as he woke up.

"Jesse?!" Emma said in shock.

"Shal was right. Your reaction was worth lying to Adam." Jesse laughed as he sat up.

Emma stared at her friend in amazement. When her eyes began to fill with tears, Jesse wrapped the red-head in his arms and held her tight. After Emma was sure that it really was Jesse holding her she pulled back. "How long have you been awake?"

"Since yesterday, we wanted to surprise you. I've lost most of my memory from the last eighteen months. I can remember major news events, like Dr. Rickers new theory, but I can't remember anything that's happened between the six of us,"

"So you know who I am." Shyla said as she approached the bed.

"Yeah, your research is absolutely amazing. If I had a better understanding of it I might be able to study it better though." Jesse said.

"Thank you. I have found that most people think I'm crazy so it is a pleasure to meet someone who appreciates my work." Shyla said with a slight smile.

Galena walked into the bedroom to find Jesse and Emma sitting together on the bed, and the sight of her fiancé with another woman sitting so close to him caused Galena's temper to flare even though she knew Emma wasn't a threat. It just hurt to know that he was so comfortable with Emma and not with her. She schooled her features into a welcoming smile.

Emma picked up on her friend's emotions and moved to the foot of the bed so the brunette could take her normal perch on the bed.

As she sat down, Galena looked over at the stranger who was standing in the room and began to size her up. _'Her black hair and blue eyes make quite a shocking statement. Her skin is a little pale though. She obviously spends all her time in the lab. Good figure, but she doesn't fill out her top too well. The clothes are a little to trendy for a scientist, but all in all she's nothing to worry about. She'd just better keep her barely twenty-five eyes off Jesse or I'll have to take her down.' _Galena shook her head slightly _'Meow, she's here to help us not seduce Jesse. More specifically she's here to help me so Jess and I can get on with our lives, if he recovers from this that is.  
_  
Dr. Rickers noticed the look of distrust in Galena's eyes and tried to put her at ease. "You must be Miss Varren." Dr. Rickers said and held out her hand to the girl.

Galena took the other woman's hand and shook it quickly. "Yeah, but you can call me Galena though."

"Galena, that is a beautiful name. You might as well call me Shyla. I am starting to miss hearing my first named used."

"I imagine you are." Adam said as he walked into the room. "I also imagine that Shalimar must have had a hard time keeping it secret that Jesse woke up."

"I'm back, Adam." Jesse laughed.

"I can see that. I'm glad you have decided to rejoin us." Adam said. He walked over to the bed and placed his hands on Galena's shoulders as he tried to figure how much Jesse was suffering from amnesia. "Galena did a good job of caring for you over the last several weeks."

"Galena is an amazing nurse, but she has a slight problem with amnesia patients. It seems that if you forget who she is she flees the room crying." Jesse teased as he gently took the girl's hand. The second that his fingers closed around hers things seemed to lock into place, as little as he knew about her, Galena made it all feel right.

"It's not my fault. I've never had anyone forget me even when they wanted to." Galena laughed, trying not to pull back her hand.

"I think that Galena should make me an excellent assistant. She obviously has the patience of a scientist." Shyla said. "Actually, I need to talk to you for a few minutes, Galena. I have some questions I would like you to answer."

"Alright, but don't you want to get settled in first?" Galena asked feeling both the relief of escaping the room that had suddenly become a prison, and fear of what the new woman wanted to know.

Shyla immediately picked up on the girl's emotions. "We can talk while I unpack if you want. There is nothing that I really need to know, but I like to be familiar with my patients before I work with them." Shyla said cheerfully.

"Alright, I'll show you to your room, and we can talk." Galena agreed as she stood up and slid her hand out of Jesse's.

"I've got to go to the lab." Adam said.

Emma hesitated for a moment before she spoke. "I think I'll stay with Jesse if that is alright."

"It's fine, Em." Jesse said.

When Galena, Shyla, and Adam had left the room Emma moved closer to Jesse and found herself suddenly crying the tears she had held back for the benefit of the others.

Jesse wrapped his arms around the girl and held her. He soon found himself crying, but couldn't understand what for.

Down the hall Galena and Shyla were talking while they unpacked the suitcases the doctor had brought.

"Jesse seems to be comfortable around you." Shyla as she set out several books on the nightstand.

"I guess so, considering he can't remember who I am." Galena replied.

"Galena, let me ask you something. Do you still love him?"

"Yes, no, I'm not sure. I still love him, but I also know that he may never love me again and that makes me want to forget why I love him so I can stop loving him."

"Don't think about that. He may not remember who you are or understand the emotions he experiences around you, but he still loves you."

"How would you know? You only just met him."

"I can tell by the way he was teasing you. The way he took your hand, the way he looked at you. Then of course, there is the fact that I could read his feelings for you. I'm afraid that I don't have enough control over my powers to block people's emotions or thoughts sometimes."

"Are you saying that you can read anyone at anytime?!"

"Galena, don't worry. I try not to do it, and as long as the emotions or thoughts aren't strong I can ignore them. Please don't think I do it for fun. I wish I could control my powers better, and Adam is going to try to help me."

"I'll try to help you too."

"Thank you. Do you mind telling me how you came to live here?"

"I was sick of dealing with my abusive father, contacted my cousin Brennan, and he said I could come live here. I moved in and that was that."

"Alright, now your relationships with the others?"

"I love my cousin and his wife. They are wonderful, and so much in love with each other. Emma and Shalimar are like sisters to me, Brennan, instead of just being my cousin, is like an older brother, and Adam is like a father."

"I have only one more question. If my treatment works will you be willing to try it for a chance to live a full life?"

"Absolutely, I want to live as long as anyone else."

"I'm glad. You may go now. I do what to do whatever I can to help all of you. I won't say anything to Jesse about the reason I was originally called here, at least not unless Adam tells me that I can."

"Thank you. He's already had it hard enough with out having to worry about my health."

Galena left the room and went to her own room where she sat quietly thinking until supper. The meal was uneventful and ended early so everyone could get plenty of sleep before the long day they would be putting in at the lab.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning Galena got up and went to the kitchen to fix breakfast.

"Good morning, Galena." Shyla said as the girl walked in.

"Dr. Rickers? I mean Shyla. You shouldn't be in here until time to eat."

"I know, but I wanted to help out today by fixing breakfast. Why don't you make the coffee?"

"Alright. Did you enjoy talking to every one yesterday?"

"Yes, but I want to ask you something about Shalimar's family."

"What do you want to know, Dr.- Shyla?"

"She mentioned her cousin, Juliet Fox. What do you know about her? If anything."

"All I know is that she died a year before I moved in, and that she studied the space-time stuff."

"Very interesting." Shyla seemed to be deep in thought, but made no impression as to why she was interested in the dead girl.

"Shal doesn't like to talk about her, and Jesse's even worse. He can barely look at her place at the table with out getting upset."

"Were they close?"

"Yeah, she was his little sister. Just like Shalimar is his older sister. He was still fairly messed up about it when I moved in. He could hardly look at me sometimes."

"That has obviously changed." Shyla said with a knowing smile.

"It did, but it took a long time." Galena said with a small blush.

"Was there a reason he was distant with you?"

"He said I reminded him of Juliet. I don't know why, she looked so different and had nothing in common with me, at least not from what I can tell. For a long time I thought that he was still in love with her ghost."

"Galena, you have to trust him. You seem so scared that he will go back to treating you that way, but I can tell you that he'd never do anything to hurt you. I've finished cooking breakfast so why don't you get the others, and think about what I've said."

"Alright." Galena agreed and left the room.

She walked down the hall to Adam's room first, but when she found the door open and the bed neatly made she figured he was in the lab working.

A little further down the hall Galena knocked on Emma's door. "Hey, Emma, breakfast is ready."

"Alright, I'm getting up." Emma called.

Galena walked down the hall to Brennan and Shalimar's room.

"Hey, Bren, time for you and your wife to get up and get decent. Breakfast is on the table."

"Galena, go bother someone else." Shalimar called back, not quite ready to leave her warm bed.

"Fine, but you'll miss breakfast if you don't get up now." Galena called as she walked down to Jesse's room. She knocked on the half-open door, but got no response. She walked into the room and once again found herself trying to resist the urge to climb into the bed and lay down next to Jesse.

She gently shook his shoulder, trying to ignore the feeling of his bare skin underneath her hand.

"Jesse, breakfast." Galena said.

"Galena?" Jesse asked as he woke up.

"Mornin, time for breakfast."

"Alright, I'm up."

"Good, see you at the table."

Galena walked out of the room and headed back to the kitchen.

Jesse got up and quickly dressed, then he went to join the others for breakfast.

Soon the group was sitting at the table and eating the delicious Belgium Waffles that Shyla had made.

"Shyla, you didn't have to cook." Adam said with his mouth full.

"I like to cook, but I normally don't get to. My technicians seem to be annoyed when I cook while we are working." Shyla laughed. "Something about cooking and scientific research not mixing well."

"I'd agree with your technicians. If anything happened to the food some one could end up sick." Shalimar said.

"Good point Mrs. Mulwray." Shyla said, smiling at the woman. "Though I do work more with computers and history books than with chemicals. I suppose they would prefer that I didn't drip maple syrup on the keyboard."

"The food tastes great though." Brennan said as he grabbed another waffle from the platter and covered it with strawberries and whipped cream.

"Thank you." Shyla answered.

An hour later they had finished their meal and decided to get ready for working in the lab.

"I want everyone to follow Shyla's instructions for the rest of the day." Adam said when they had all gathered in the lab.

"I only have one thing that you'll all be required for. Then everyone except Galena is free to leave." Shyla said as she picked up a needle. "Now, I'll need blood from everyone except Adam. I've got the procedure ready, but I need to fix the settings to the right DNA configurations."

"You already have the procedure ready?" Brennan asked.

"Yes, I finished the work right before the convention. I just chose not to mention that it was completed. I didn't want anyone trying to get me to give a lecture." Shyla quickly explained. "It would have delayed my arrival here. Now why don't you roll up those sleeves and let me get started."

She quickly took the blood samples and everyone except Galena left.

"Alright, Dr. Rickers, what shall I do?" Galena asked.

"I need you to put the blood samples in the analyzer. Start with yours."

"Alright." Galena picked up the vial of blood with her name on it and put it in the analyzer.

"Good, Galena. It should only take a few seconds to analyze the DNA code, and then we'll do Shalimar's. I have to admit, I'm a little worried about whether or not I'll be able to work on her."

"Why? She's in perfect health."

"I know, but I also know that she and Brennan have been trying for a baby. If she's pregnant I won't be able to chance the procedure because I can't guarantee the procedure won't harm the baby."

"So, if she's pregnant it will be at least nine months before you can treat her?"

"I'm afraid so, and I don't like that. I know that they want a baby, but I don't want to delay her treatment any longer than I have to. It looks like yours is done so why don't you give it to me so I can log it." she took the small bottle from the girl. "Now, put in Shal's blood."

"OK." Galena put in the next sample.

"I'm going to begin sequencing the scanner to your DNA. We should be ready to begin in a couple of hours."

"That soon?"

"Galena, I've done everything in preparation. I only needed your DNA sequence to make sure the scanner was properly set. I want you to go relax for a little while. It won't do you any good to be tired when I do the procedure."

"Alright. Can I ask you a couple of questions before I go?"

"Of course, Galena."

"I don't really want to know what will happen to me during the procedure, but I do want to know what I'll need to do afterwards."

"You'll be fine, a little tired though. I'll be doing the procedure on Jesse after I finish with you so, the two of you can sit together in the rec room and watch some movies or talk. The others will be at your beck and call for the rest of the day." She smiled slightly. "I know that over the last few months you've gotten tired of bed rest, but I promise that I'll make it up to you. Besides you'll have a little time with your fiancé. I think that today might help him to get some of his memory back. He'll be spending a lot of time with you the next couple of days, and I'm hoping that I can do something to help you two get back to planning that wedding."

"Right." Galena nodded slightly. "That sounds good. I'm going to go watch some TV or read until it's time."

"Alright, and could you please tell Jesse to join you, since he is going through the procedure right after you?"

"Sure." Galena said. She stepped out of the lab, leaving Dr. Rickers to her work, and walked to Jesse's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Jesse called.

Galena opened the door and walked in. "Hey, Jess," she said.

"Hey, Galena, you and Dr. Rickers having fun?" Jesse asked distractedly.

"Yeah, she's finishing the sequencing right mow. I'm going through the procedure first, then you."

"That sounds good."

"We get to spend the rest of the day watching movies in the rec room while everyone else waits on us hand and foot."

"I'm sure it will be fun, Galena." Jesse answered quietly.

She knew him all too well to let his uncharacteristic quietness go by unnoticed. Galena sat down next to him on the bed and took his hand. "Jess, you ok?"

Jesse looked at the girl and gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess, I don't know, Galena."

"You know you can talk to me."

For a second, Jesse looked down at the small hand that held his, he could not begin to understand why he trusted her the way he did, and then spoke. "I have dreams when I sleep, or sometimes when I'm just not doing anything. They're always about stuff I can't remember, but some of them get stuck in my head. For the most part it has been good stuff, and a lot of it has centered around you and me, but not this one. This morning I decided to do some reading, but fell asleep. Instead of the decently good dreams I normally have this one was horrible. Bren and Shal had been in a horrible fight, and she had been hurt very badly. Adam didn't know if she would make it."

"I remember, that was the time that I almost died. We were all so worried and trying to deal with it in our own ways. Brennan was so angry, he spent every second in the training simulator taking off all the safety precautions. Emma, poor girl, was so overtaken by all the emotions that she had to stay in her room. Adam was in the lab working on her while you and I just sat there being with her."

"That was a hard time, Galena. It makes me think that remembering everything would be a bad thing."

"If you don't remember you will loose the bad stuff, but you will also loose the good stuff."

"Like the first birthday present you gave me?" Jesse asked with a smirk.

Galena smiled at the memory of that night. It was their first time together, her first time period. "So you remember that. See there are some things that you might want to remember."

"Alright, you win." Jesse said in mock defeat.

Galena kissed his forehead and then stood up. "Let's go to the rec room and watch TV. Dawson's Creek is on, and it has been forever since we watched it together."

"Alright, I'm coming." Jesse got up and followed the girl to the rec room. He wasn't in the mood for the bittersweet show that he associated with Juliet, but staying alone with the girl in his room could lead to trouble.

They sat down on the couch and Galena turned on the television.

"It's the very last episode." Galena said as she recognized the episode playing.

"I never liked this one. Jen didn't deserve to die." Jesse said.

Galena smiled and put her head on his shoulder. A minute later Jesse put his arm around her. They sat in perfect contentment as they watched, enjoying each other's company and the bittersweet show.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

"Galena? Jesse?" Shyla said as she stepped into the rec room. "It's time to go to the lab."

"Already?" Galena asked

"Yes the scanner has been sequenced and everything is ready. I want Jesse to be on hand so I can finish everything and then begin to re-sequence the scanners for later."

"Alright." Jesse agreed.

Jesse and Galena got up and followed Shyla to the lab where the others were waiting. "Adam and I are going to be the only ones in here while Galena is going through the procedure, the rest of you will be waiting outside the lab." Shyla said.

"I want to be with Galena." Brennan said. He had already had one too many close calls with the girl.

"Brennan, I understand, but you need to be out of the lab. It will be easier to do the procedure with you out of the room. I can't have too many people in there if anything goes wrong. I'm not expecting anything to happen, but I need to be prepared for that possibility." Shyla explained.

"I'll be fine." Galena spoke up. "It's not like I've never had to go through something on my own."

"Hey, you're never going to be alone again." Shalimar said as she took Galena's hand into her own. "We love you too much to let you face things alone again."

"I'm gonna be alright, Shal. I'm just trying to keep Bren from worrying about me."

"It's impossible, Galena. You're my baby cousin, I've got to worry about you." Brennan said as he gently hugged the girl.

"Let's go ahead and get this done." Shyla said when the two cousins separated.

Galena smiled and turned to follow Adam and Shyla to the lab. The others sat in some comfortable chairs just outside the lab and talked while they were waiting.

"Well, by the end of the day Galena should be able to use her powers again." Emma said.

"That'll be good. She misses helping people." Brennan agreed.

Shalimar laid her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She knew things would be better after the stabilization process was completed.

Jesse sat quietly in his chair and began to daydream.

Flashback/Daydream

_Juliet was fighting off three GSA agents as she tried to make her way to the now open door. Jesse and Brennan had another three agents each, and Emma and Shalimar were surrounded by a group of agents. Jesse and Brennan took down the agents they were fighting and tried to help the women. Before the guys could get there Shalimar and Emma were knocked unconscious. The remaining agents heard the bomb start ticking and ran off, with the exception of a feral who continued to fight Juliet. The man was completely ignoring the four other members of Mutant X that were in the building, and concentrating all his power on Juliet._

"Jesse, Brennan, get them out of here!" Juliet yelled. "I'll be right behind you!"

"Juliet, we can't leave you!" Jesse answered.

"Go! Now!" the girl yelled back. The men picked up the woman closest to them, Jesse had Shalimar in his arms and Brennan was carrying Emma.

"We'll be back, Juls! Just give us a second!" Brennan yelled.

The two men ran out of the building and laid the women out on the pavement. As they turned to run back to the building it exploded.

"Juliet! No!" Jesse yelled as he sank to the ground, realizing that the girl was gone.

Jesse felt tears streaming down his face, and for once he didn't try to brush them off.

Brennan sat down next to him, shocked from the explosion.

Brennan tried to fight off the tears, hoping that the girl would emerge, but lost the battle.

End Flashback/Daydream

"Jess, you alright?" Shalimar asked, jarring the man from his thoughts. She could not help but notice the sweat that had gathered on his forehead.

"Juliet," Jesse whispered. "I guess I slipped into a daydream about the day she died."

Shalimar got up and walked over to put her arm round Jesse. "Jess, it's alright. Juliet is gone, but we're not going to lose anyone else."

"I know, Shal. It's just that I didn't ever see the body, and I can't help hoping that she's alive."

"I want to hope too, but, Jess, we have to face that she's gone. If she was alive, she'd be here." She herself had hoped too much for it, and the last thing she wanted was to see Jesse fall to pieces over a false hope, especially not with him so close to being happy.

'I know, Shal, but it seems so selfish to give up on her."

"Jesse, don't worry about it. Juliet would want us to move on with our lives."

"She never wanted anyone to be hurt."

"No she didn't. I can just imagine how she'd try to help you remember. She always acted like a kid."

"I know, it was always so much fun to be around her at the holidays."

"She was a happy person, Jess, and she'd want us to be happy."

Jesse hugged Shalimar and wiped away the tears that had gathered in his eyes.

"Alright, Galena has competed the process." Shyla said as she stepped in the room.

"How is she?" Brennan nervously asked.

"She's fine, a little weak, but I was expecting that. Why don't you help her into the rec room. She can probably walk, but I don't want her to hurt herself falling if her legs give out on her."

"Alright." Brennan said as he got up and walked into the lab.

"You can all go see her if you want to." Shyla said

Emma, Shalimar, and Jesse got up and walked into the lab. The two women walked closer to her while Jesse stayed back slightly.

"Hey, Galena." Shalimar said as she stepped up to stand by her husband at the right side of the med bed.

"Hey, Shal." Galena answered in a mildly playful tone. "I think Dr. Rickers is here to torture us for all the secrets we have because that was no fun."

"Poor, baby." Shalimar teased.

"You look good." Emma said.

"Thanks. Shyla says I'll be able to use my powers again, but I'm not allowed to try until tomorrow."

"Good, then you can help me with Jesse." Emma laughed.

"Jesse won't need my help. He'll be fine with you helping him." Galena said.

"Galena, I'll take all the help I can get." Jesse said as he slowly approached the bed.

"Hey, " Galena said, "you may want to run. Whatever it is that Shyla's doing isn't any fun."

"No one else that I've put through this process has ever complained." Shyla said as she reviewed the computer's scans, trying to find anything that could indicate a problem.

"Galena tends to joke about anything medical." Brennan said.

"He's telling the truth. I'm just playing with them. I didn't have any pain or any other problems during the procedure." Galena added, her voice full of sincerity.

"Galena, why don't we take you into the rec room so you can get some rest." Brennan suggested.

"Alright, but I can walk." Galena said as she slowly sat up and started to get up from the med bed.

"I know you can, and you'll get to do plenty of walking later." Brennan said as he quickly scooped his cousin up in his arms. He carefully carried her into the rec room and set her on the couch.

"Now you stay there, Galena." Brennan instructed.

"Jesse will be with you in a few minutes." Shyla said as she and the others walked back to the area outside the lab. Jesse followed the two doctors into the lab and laid down on the med bed as Shyla began to bring the scanner online for the procedure.

"Alright, Jesse. We're about to begin. I want you to relax while we do this, if there is any pain or discomfort let me know."

"Yes, ma'am." Jesse agreed.

Shyla turned on the scanner and the light waves worked their way into Jesse's body. The sensation was unusual as he felt the cells of his body go through a change. A few minutes later the light waves retracted as Shyla turned off the scanner and looked at the computer.

"That is all there is to it?" Jesse asked in disbelief.

"Jesse, you are fine. Like I told Galena no using your powers until tomorrow at least. I want your body to have time to adapt to the changes that have just been made." Shyla said as Adam stepped out of the lab to get Brennan, Shalimar, and Emma.

"Is it as bad as Galena said?" Shalimar asked as she walked in.

"No." Jesse answered almost laughing.

"Good, cause if she'd been telling the truth you would have never been able to get me to go through with it." Brennan laughed.

"Alright, let's get Jesse to the rec room so we can have lunch soon." Shyla spoke up ass she saved the information on the computer so she could review it later.

Brennan and Shalimar helped Jesse off the bed and let him lean on their shoulders on the way to the rec room.

"Hey, Jesse, you can sit on the sofa with me." Galena said as they walked in the room.

"Alright, Galena." Jesse said. Brennan and Shalimar helped him to the sofa, and then stood back waiting for their orders.

"Anything we can get you before we go get lunch?" Shalimar asked.

"Can you put a movie in the DVD player?" Galena requested.

'What movie do you want?" Brennan asked as he opened the video cabinet and Shalimar hunted down the remote controls.

"I want _Titanic_, but if Jesse wants to watch something else I don't mind." Galena answered as she moved to sit closer to Jesse.

"If she wants _Titanic_, it's fine. We can watch another movie of my choice later." Jesse agreed.

Brennan put the disc in and Shalimar handed Galena the controllers as Adam and Shyla stepped in the room. "Jesse, Galena, you are going to spend the rest of the day in here. Now, I want you to feel free to call anyone for anything." Shyla said.

"Use your com links to signal us. Emma will be bringing your lunch in a few minutes."

Adam added.

"We'll be just fine." Galena said as she quickly gave the group a smile, hoping that they would leave her alone with Jesse.

"She's right, we will be fine on our own." Jesse agreed.

"Here's lunch." Emma called as she stepped into the room carrying a large tray. "We have some delicious spaghetti that I reheated from last night's leftovers, iced tea, and two slices of chocolate cake for desert."

Brennan and Shalimar quickly moved the coffee table close to the sofa and Emma set the tray down.

"I'll be back with more tea when you need it." The redhead smiled as she arranged everything.

"Thanks, Em." Galena said as she picked up a bowl.

"No problem, we'll leave so you two can talk and spend sometime together." Shalimar gave Emma a covert smile.

They left leaving Jesse and Galena on the sofa.

"They really want me to remember you better, don't they?" Jesse laughed as Galena picked up the controller for the DVD player.

"Yeah, but I am the only team member that you have no recollection of." Galena said as she twirled the spaghetti around her fork.

"Makes sense, in our line of work we do have to know each others weaknesses and the like, but I have remembered a little about you." Jesse said beginning to eat his own lunch.

"Jesse, I know that. I just mean that you don't really know anything about me. Remembering that we slept together doesn't give you all the knowledge of what it was to me. Tell me what made that night so special to me, Jesse."

"Galena, I really can't tell you. I know it was our first time together, and that it was my birthday, but other than that I don't know. What made it special, Galena?"

"Let's not go into this. I want to talk with you about who I am, but if you don't remember what I told you that night, I don't feel like it. Let's just watch the movie."

Galena started the movie before Jesse could say anything. They sat there eating their lunch in companionable silence. When they had finished the chocolate cake, they concentrated on the movie. Jesse sat quietly, staring at the television, but not really focusing on the movie, until, about halfway through the movie he remembered what Galena had told him the night they'd slept together. He leaned over, picked up the controller, and paused the movie.

"I'm trying to watch that." Galena protested, still not ready to talk to him.

"Galena, I'm sorry." Jesse said softly, trying to make sure she knew how contrite he was.

She looked at him for a second, thinking she knew what he was apologizing for, but wanting to be sure. "For what?" she asked.

"For forgetting what that night meant to you. Galena, you gave up your virginity to be with me that night."

"And you promised I wouldn't regret it."

"Do you?"

"No, Jesse, I don't. We were so in love, and I was ready. Before she died my mother told me that if you have to ask yourself if you are ready for sex then you're not ready. Jesse, I knew I wanted to, I loved you."

"It sounds like your mother was a wise woman. Now that we're ok do you want to finish the movie?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Jesse turned on the movie as Galena laid her head on his shoulder. Jesse smiled at the feeling of her so close to him and slipped his arm around her to increase the contact. She sighed and snuggled deep into his arms. The movie played, and captured the attention of both its viewers, distracting them from their subconscious actions. Galena slowly moved to sit in Jesse's lap with her head resting on the opposite shoulder than she had originally leaned against. Jesse wrapped both arms around the girl, being liberal in the placement of his hands on her small figure. As the credits began to roll across the television screen Jesse leaned in and kissed her. Galena immediately sank into the kiss and opened her mouth in surrender. She slowly began to toy with the buttons on his shirt and soon had it unbuttoned. Jesse suddenly realized what was happening and pulled back.

"Galena, this is wrong. We shouldn't be doing this." Jesse said as he re- buttoned his shirt.

"We can do whatever we want, Jesse. We're adults." Galena answered.

"Galena, I told you, I just want to be friends. I need sometime to sort everything out."

She moved from his lap to sit on the sofa. "Fine, take all the time you want, Jesse Kilmartin I'm finished with this!"

"Galena, please don't get angry. I just want to take things slowly."

"Well you can take things slowly on your own, Jesse Kilmartin! I'm not going to wait on you anymore! When you get your damn memories back you can add our break up to the list!" she yelled and slapped him.

Galena got up from the sofa and ran into the hall where her cousin was walking in to check on them. She buried her face in his chest and cried as he wrapped his strong arms around her tiny body.

"I hate him, Brennan! I swear I do!" Galena said through her tears.

"Galena, you know you don't hate him. You're just angry because those damn GSA agents took him away from you."

"That's stupid, Bren. He's sitting in the rec room, we were just kis- talking."

"Physically it is Jesse, but it's not the man you love. The GSA agents took away the Jesse who wants to marry you. Gal, you're going to have to realize that you are essentially grieving for the memories that Jesse has lost."

"Brennan, he's not going to forgive me. I was just a total bitch to him, and he's not ever going to forget what I said or how I acted. I've lost him, Brennan." She cried as fresh tears began to flow.

"Galena, he's not going to hold what you said against you. Jess will understand what's been going on with you. He loves you, Gal."

"Don't use that name, Brennan. I stopped being the woman you call Gal when my fiancé was knocked unconscious two months ago."

"Alright, Galena. Just promise me that you won't give up on him."

"Alright, Brennan, I promise. Could you please take me to my room?"

"Sure, Galena." Brennan scooped the girl up into his arms and she laid her head against his shoulder as he carried her to her bedroom.

"Brennan, will you sit with me for a while?" she asked quietly as he set her down on the bed.

"For a minute, but then I've got to go check on Jess."

"Alright, help me fall asleep like you did when we were younger."

"Lie down and I will."

The girl laid on her stomach and Brennan gently rubbed her back and recited poetry to her until she fell asleep. He then covered her with a nearby blanket and turned out the lights as he left the room.  
Brennan walked back to the rec room where he found Jesse watching a re-run of Punk'd.

"You alright, Jess?" Brennan asked as he sat down on the sofa.

"She hates me doesn't she?" Jesse responded.

"She's having a hard time of it, Jess. I shouldn't tell you this, but she loves you."

"I know, she's told me that. She does have a tendency to put it in past tense though."

"She doesn't want to make you feel that guilty. Adam wants us to be careful with what we tell you, so Galena has decided to pretend that you broke up with her before the accident."

"She just broke up with me. We were kissing, and I realized that it was wrong and she got angry."

"You were kissing? Jesse, you don't need to be kissing her if you can't remember who she is."

"We were watching the movie and we got distracted and didn't know what was going on. One minute I'm watching Leo DiCaprio trying to stay alive and the next your cousin is sitting in my lap and kissing me. I didn't mean to kiss her, and I wish I hadn't." he sighed slightly, the last bit was not entirely true.

"Look, I understand, just don't let it happen again."

"Whatever you say, Brennan, besides, Galena probably won't ever be alone in the same room as me again."

"Love conquers all."

"This isn't some romance novel, Bren. We're talking about real life. People can end up apart."

"Have faith, Jess. If you two are meant to be together it will happen."

"You talk like she was more than a girlfriend."

"You'll have to remember what she was on your own. Just try not to hurt her in the process."

"I won't, Bren."

"The problem Jesse, is that you already have. I'm not saying you did it on purpose, I know you aren't like that. Galena doesn't have a lot of self- confidence in herself. After he mother died, no one believed in her. When she came here, she was like a scared rabbit. Getting her to voice her opinions was like pulling teeth. She fell for you immediately. You guys took it slow. The love and respect you gave her Jesse made her bloom like a rose. She grew more confident in everything she did. Unfortunately it was all tied to the love you had for her. When the GSA took your memories, they also took Galena basic foundation. With you not remembering what you had she's going backwards. She's going to have to believe in herself, for herself all over again."

"Me kissing her, and then turning it off when it looks like it's going to go further doesn't help."

"No it doesn't. Jesse you have to stay away from her. I don't think she can stand anymore rejection right now."

"Brennan I want to know. I have to know. I don't care what Adam said. What exactly was Galena to me."

"She was the woman you were going to marry."

Jesse froze as the weight of the words hit him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chap 8

2 days later

"Shalimar, Brennan, we're going to be ready for the procedure in a few minutes." Shyla said as she stepped into the rec room.

"I take it I'm not pregnant then." Shalimar said quietly.

"No, I'm afraid not, but don't worry. My parents spent five years trying for my brother and then three more years for me." Shyla said. She sat down on the sofa next to the young couple ready to talk with or comfort them for a few moments.

"That's a long time." Shalimar said. "You're supposed to go to a specialist if you don't conceive with in a few months, but we can't really do that."

"They couldn't either. My mother was a natural mutant like me."

"Your parents must have really wanted children." Brennan said as he put his arm around his wife.

"It was all my mother ever wanted. She was so good to us. She always told me and Atticus that she loved us more because she had to wait so long to get us."

"Your brother's name was Atticus?" Brennan asked.

"Mom's favorite book was 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'. I narrowly escaped getting named Scout after the girl."

"How did your mother come up with your name?" Shalimar asked

"She didn't name me until after I was born. Originally she was trying to choose between Sheila and Claudia, but after she went through a twenty hour labor she decided that I must have been shy and changed Sheila to Shyla."

"That is sweet. I hope I get the chance to name a baby one day. A little boy with his daddy's brown eyes." Shalimar said.

"I was looking forward to a having a little blonde princess."

"You will, I know that right now it may seem like you will never get the chance to have children, but one day you will wake up to hear those words that you want to hear, and all of this will be a memory."

"But maybe I can't get pregnant. They could have done something to me at the institution when I was young. All those beatings. It wouldn't be too far fetched to consider it with the way they treated me." Shalimar said as tears began to stream down her face.

Brennan wrapped his arms tightly around her and let her tears fall on his shoulder. "Shal, I don't think you have anything to worry about. You're fine, alright. I made some bad choices of my own, as a teen and some of them are probably keeping us from having kids."

"I know that I don't really have a close relationship with either of you, but I think that you should let Adam run some basic tests." Shyla said. "He should be able to rule out the most basic problems of having low to no sperm or no motility, or ovulation problems or fallopian tube blockage. If those get ruled out it could just be you need to relax."

"You're right, Shyla." Shalimar agreed. "I don't know why we didn't think of that, and please feel free to talk to us about anything. Hearing your story gives me hope."

"We need someone to talk to who wasn't around us from the beginning. Shyla, if Adam trusts you, we trust you." Brennan added.

"Thank you. I'm glad that you feel like you can trust me."

Shalimar gently hugged the other woman and then wiped away her tears.

"We'd better get you two to the lab now. Adam and I want to finish everything up as early as possible today."

"Let's go then." Shalimar said.

Shyla and the young couple got up and went to the lab area. When they got there they found the others already waiting on them.

Adam, Emma, Jesse, and Galena were waiting outside the lab when the three approached.

"Everyone ready to begin?" Adam asked as he opened the lab door.

"I think so. Now why don't we have Brennan go first." Shyla answered.

"It's fine with me." Brennan agreed. He followed the two doctors into the lab while the other four sat in the chairs.

"You alright, Shal?" Jesse asked as he noted the expression of sadness Shalimar wore.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little disappointed that I'm not pregnant yet, but I'm ok."

"Maybe it's not your time yet, Shal. I'm sure you and Bren will have a mess of kids one day." Jesse volunteered to help cheer her up.

"You're probably right, Jess. Thanks for helping me feel better."

"Did you expect me to ignore the fact that my big sister was upset about something?"

"No, of course not, but you don't have to worry, little brother, I'll be fine." Shalimar said as she messed up his hair.

"Hey, that wasn't nice!" Jesse protested, half laughing as he tried to straighten up his hair.

"I think you look good with your hair like that." Emma teased as she further messed up his blonde locks.

Galena sat quietly and watched the three as they toyed with each other and their hair was knocked out of place. Since she had stormed out of the rec room two days earlier, the brunette had spent most of her time in her bedroom trying to avoid the others, especially Jesse.

Shyla stepped out of the lab to find the three adults playing and laughed at them.

"What is going on?" she asked as she brushed back a stray strand of her raven colored hair.

"Shal and I were talking and she messed up my hair, and then I don't know. We just went crazy." Jesse said as he quickly straightened up his hair.

"Well, Brennan made it through the procedure, and after he's in the rec room Shal can go through." Shyla said as she gave into the urge to further mess up the hair of the three adults. Galena smiled when she saw her friends' expressions at the normally composed woman's action.

"Now, let's go get Brennan out of the lab and into the rec room." Shyla said. They walked into the lab and Shalimar immediately took her place beside Brennan.

"How you feeling?" she whispered as she gently brushed his hair away from his face. She kissed him gently on the lips.

"I'm fine, Shal. I'm not allowed to use my powers, of course, but I'm fine."

"Good, cause you've got to help me work on the Helix." Jesse said.

"Before you put him to work let's take Bren to the rec room." Adam broke in.

Shyla and Jesse helped Brennan off the med bed and into the rec room. Soon Shalimar and Emma had both gone through the process and the trio was sitting on the sofa with strict orders to stay there and to call Jesse, Galena, or Adam on their com links if they needed anything. Shyla and Adam were in the lab analyzing the data from the scans they had taken So Shyla could work on publishing her work. Jesse and Galena had been stuck with kitchen duty and were trying to fix lunch for their three patients.

"Jesse, can you fill three glasses with ice?" Galena asked. Her tone revealed no emotions, but Jesse knew that she was still upset and angry. For the past two days meals had been tense even though the seven of them tried to remain cheerful.

"Yeah." Jesse replied as he ran his fingers through his blonde hair. He quickly picked up three glasses and put ice in them. Galena added tea to the glasses and set them on a tray. She put plates of chicken and rice on another tray while Jesse put a platter of brownies on the tray with the drinks.

"Shyla is going to spoil us with all these cakes and stuff." he said as he ate one of the rich sweets.

"She likes to cook." Galena responded indifferently.

Jesse felt the tension of the last two days increasing. Knowing that he'd once loved the girl enough to purpose scared him more than a dozen GSA agents ever could have. _'She's so beautiful, and she doesn't even realize it. I can't imagine anyone not loving her. After the way she acted the other day I can't imagine her ever not telling us exactly how she feels. She's a tough girl even if she doesn't have much self-confidence.'_

"Jesse, I would prefer it if you didn't stare at me." Galena said.

"Sorry," Jesse apologized, and then decided to go out on a limb. "it's just that you are so beautiful." Jesse apologized.

"Save it, Kilmartin. Flattery won't get me to forgive you for the other day or to do anything else you want."

"Galena, I mean it. Even if you were a complete stranger I would still think that you were a very beautiful woman."

"Pick up the tray and let's go feed our patients." Galena instructed as she picked up the tray with the plates and walked out.

"Damn!" Jesse swore as he picked up the other tray and followed her.

They quickly dropped off their food, made the group more comfortable, and headed their separate ways.

Several hours later

That night Adam and Shyla went out for dinner and a late movie at the insistence of the five younger members of the team. Brennan, Shalimar, and Emma ate an early supper and immediately went to bed leaving Jesse and Galena to eat the meal alone.

Jesse saw Galena on the computer and decided to cook the meal as a peace offering to her. Since he was short on time he opted to fix a box of ready made beef stroganoff and chilled a bottle of wine. He set the table with the good dishes and added candles. On the way to his room he glanced in the computer room to be sure that Galena was still there. When he saw that she was, Jesse hurried to his room and changed into a silver silk shirt and black dress pants. Once he was dress he headed to the computer room to get Galena.

"Hey, time for supper." he said as he quietly approached the girl.

"I'm not hungry." She answered without turning around.

"Come on, Galena. Don't make me eat alone. Besides you've been working for hours. Just come take a break for a few minutes."

"Alright, I'll come." She got up and turned around to face him. "Well, don't you look nice, Mr. Kilmartin."

"Thank you Miss Varren. You look beautiful tonight."

Galena looked down at the spaghetti strap sundress she was wearing and blushed. "I can go change."

"You look fine." Jesse said as he gently took her hand and led her to the table.

"It's beautiful, Jess. You really didn't have to do this."

"You deserve it. The last couple of months have been hard on you, and a woman as special as you are deserves this kind of treatment."

For a minute she thought that he must be playing her, but decided to give him a chance. "You used to do this kind of thing for me back when I first moved in. It always made me feel like the most important woman in the world when you would take time out of your life to cook for me even if all you did was heat up some soup."

"Tonight you are the most important woman in the world." he smiled gently as he looked at her. "I want to make up for every time I've hurt you and we're starting with this dinner. Then we can watch whatever movie you want, and if you don't want to watch a movie I'm willing to do whatever you want to."

"I don't deserve this, I've been bitchy with you for the last two days. Why would you do something like this for me?"

"Because everyone deserves to feel important."

"Thank you, Jesse."

"You're welcome, now let's eat." He pulled out Galena's chair and helped her sit down. Once she was seated he took his place across from her and poured them each a glass of the white wine he had chosen for the meal.

"This is delicious." Galena said as she took a bite of the stroganoff

"I'm glad you like it. I tried to choose something that would come out of your dress if it got spilled."

Galena laughed at his remark as she thought about the dress that had been ruined by wine and spaghetti.

The meal was spent in light hearted conversation and afterwards they ate some of Shyla's extra chocolate brownies. When they were done with desert and ready to move on with the evening Galena requested to watch Miss Congeniality and Jesse quickly agreed they went to their rooms to change into more comfortable clothes before they settled in to watch the movie.

Galena emerged clad in a baby blue pajama set while Jess wore a pair of flannel pants and a snug fitting white tank and was carrying several blankets and his pillow.

"You planning on sleeping in the rec room tonight?" Galena asked.

"No, but I thought I'd make myself comfortable while we watched the movie."

"Good plan. I'm going to get my pillow and some blankets."

"Alright, I'll wait on you."

"Make some popcorn. I like mine with extra butter."

"Anything else I can get for you, ma'm?"

"How about some more of that wine," she smiled, knowing that she was going to take advantage of his good nature, "it tastes so good."

"Only a little more, you'll get drunk if you have too much."

"It's my night and I want to get drunk. Please, Jesse."

"Alright, now hurry up."

Galena went back to her room to get her pillow and some blankets while Jesse went to the kitchen for the popcorn and wine. When Galena got back to the rec room she laid out the blankets in the floor and propped the pillows up against the sofa. Jesse walked in with the popcorn and wine as Galena finished straightening the blankets.

"That looks nice and comfortable." Jesse said as he set the popcorn down and handed Galena her wine.

"I hope we're comfortable tonight. I'm so glad you want to spend time with me."

"Any guy would want to spend time with you."

Jesse sat down on the blanket and Galena took her place next to him. He threw a blanket over them as she turned on the movie. They spent the rest of the evening laughing at Sandra Bullock as she tried to become a beauty queen. While they watched the movie Jesse allowed Galena to lean her head against his shoulder, but was careful to keep from allowing things to escalate as they had two days before. After the movie was over Galena  
turned off the DVD player and television, but made no move to get up.

"It's getting late, Galena. We'd better get to bed." Jesse whispered.

"I'm not sleepy, can we stay up and talk?"

"If you want to talk we can talk."

"Jesse, is this a date?"

"No. Galena," he shook his head "I just wanted to do something special for you. You took care of me for six weeks and when I woke up I couldn't even remember you."

"That's what I always loved about you. If you ever said something that hurt me you would

try to make up for it."

"I wouldn't ever want you to be angry with me, Galena. I already lost a friend before I got a chance to apologize for something I'd done and I don't want to go through that pain again."

"Juliet?"

"Yeah, it was a hard time for me. I still feel the pain of her death."

"Jesse, you would never tell me a lot about her, but I want to know the truth. Were you in love with her?"

"I loved her as a sister and my best friend, but nothing more than that."

"I don't want to sound nosy, but what did you fight about?"

"I'd rather not say, Galena. It was an uncomfortable situation and there were some misunderstandings."

"You slept with her, didn't you?" she took a deep breath as she waited to see if he would answer the question she had been so scared to ask.

"Do you really know me that well?"

"Afraid so." She gave him a weak smile as she felt a stab of hurt go through her.

"Juliet and I were both drunk and she told me that she was in love with me." he explained slowly. "I knew she wasn't, but I wasn't thinking straight and neither was she."

"And the next morning you both realized what happened."

"After that I decided I'd never drink before I had sex, and then I'd only do it with someone I was sure I loved."

"Was there anyone between Juliet and me?" For a moment she felt guilty about pressing the issue, but she also know that it might be her only chance to get all of her questions answered.

"No, I didn't even date after Juliet died. You helped me a lot that year, I do know that much even if I can't remember it."

"You helped me a lot too, Jesse. Years of living with an abusive father had taken their toll on me, but you helped me to learn how to be strong."

"I'm sorry your father was so bad to you. I don't understand how he could ever treat a woman as wonderful as you in that way."

"Jesse, I'm sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have acted like that." Galena said as she turned to face him.

"It's ok. You've had to go through a lot these past weeks, and you definitely need to release some emotions."

"You are too understanding." she yawned slightly. "I probably should go on to bed, will you walk me to my room?"

"If you want me to."

They got up and Jesse gathered the blankets and pillows while Galena took the popcorn bowl and wine glasses to the kitchen.

"Alright the dishes are in the sink." Galena said as she stepped back into the rec room.

Jesse put the pillows and blankets in one arm and put his other arm around Galena's shoulders. They walked to her room in silence. When they reached Galena's room Jesse put her pillow and blankets in her bed and turned to leave.

"Jesse, wait a second." Galena said.

He stopped walking and turned around.

"Since it's my night I wanted to do this." she whispered as she lightly kissed him.

He was surprised by her action, but smiled at her when she stepped back and searched his face for a reaction.

"Goodnight, Galena." He whispered.

"Goodnight, Jesse." She answered as she closed her door and listened to him walk away. "I love you." She added when she was sure that he couldn't hear her.

She walked over to her bed and climbed in under the sheets. Galena picked up a picture from her bed side table and smiled at the frozen image of her and Jesse wrapped up in each other's arms. _'I love him so much, but I can't do this. He doesn't want me for any of the reasons he used to, and I need a guy who is interested in me as something more than a friend. I'm sorry, Jesse, but maybe one day we'll be back together.' _She slowly put the picture in her dresser drawer and closed it firmly. She then quickly got dressed in her pajamas and climbed into bed.

In his room down the hall Jesse held a small picture of him and Galena at the banquet they'd gone to on his birthday. He thought about how good it had felt to dance with her that night. Even the obnoxious Lexa Pierce that Noah had introduced hadn't been able to ruin the evening that had later turned into a wonderful night. _'She had such a good time at the banquet. I wish Dad hadn't tried to set me up with Miss Pierce though. Brennan wouldn't have forgiven me if I'd broken up with Galena after that night. I don't know she chose me though, she could have any man she wants. I just wish I could still feel the way I used to about her." _He turned out the lights and drifted to sleep with the picture still in his hands.


	9. Chapter 9

Chap 9

Two weeks later

Shyla stood in her room packing her suitcase to leave Sanctuary. In her time there she had seen sparks of hope for the Mutant X team as well as their disappointments. More recently she had seen the roller-coaster that was Jesse's and Galena's relationship go from a high to a low and back over and up again. One day Jesse would be treating the girl like a princess, cooking her favorite meals, watching movies with her that he normally would have avoided, taking her shopping at the mall and allowing her to drive his Lexus. Shyla had noticed that each thing Jesse did for the woman he was supposed to love would temporarily bring Galena out from her distant world, but the girl would soon after return to the empty place that only her cousin could begin to penetrate.

It also seemed that each time Galena looked as if she was going to return to her normal easy-go-lucky natured the girl would draw back and plunge even further into her private void. Her taste in clothes had gone from a casual, comfortable style of yoga pants and tanks to tight leather pants and reveling halters that had been a far stretch for the girl even on clubbing nights. The intimate conversations had all but ended and were replaced by light remarks and brief chats.  
_  
'Galena isn't responding the way we all thought she would. Everyone thought that she would be trying to help Jesse, but he's the one who's trying to help her. Brennan is very protective of her, and that makes me wonder exactly what is going on in her mind right now. She's in need of a lot of love, and I think that only one person can give her the kind of love that she needs. I wish I didn't have to leave them during this intense time.' _Shyla thought as she locked the suitcases.

There was a soft knocking at the door pulling Shyla from her thoughts. "Come in," she called.

Jesse opened the door and stepped into the room. "Hey, Shyla. I just wanted to talk with you privately before we all go to the airport."

"That's fine Jesse. What did you want to talk about?"

"Galena." he sighed. "I don't know what's the matter with her. She's gone from being one of the sweetest women in the world to a person who resembles what could only be described a horrible slut."

"She's having trouble dealing with your rejection. Jesse, I know that you want to be careful of how you treat her, but she has a need to be loved and wanted."

"I know, but why is she acting like a bad girl? If she's looking for attention she'd do a lot better if she was more like herself. Or at least get men that would treat her better."

"She wants a man different from you. The intensity of your relationship made it even harder on her when you woke up and couldn't remember her. I'm not a psychiatrist, Jesse, and I won't pretend to be, but I think and believe that she needs you to prove to her that there is still a chance that you can come back to her, the way you were before the accident. She needs to know that you still at least partially feel for her."

"Shyla, I have never been so confused by my emotions, but Galena has me in a total wreck. One minute I'm falling in love with her and the next she is everything I hate. No matter how good she looks in leather I can't stand to see her dressed that way."

"In my time here, I've seen a lot of faith, and I think that you need to tap into that resource. Once you get your memories back I think Galena will be happy to take you back.'

"I know that she still loves me, but I am starting to wonder why I ever fell in love with her in the first place. I've never gone for women who looked like an easy mark. I want a woman who can respect herself, and lately Galena has looked as if she was a hooker."

"I wish there were more men like you, Jesse. I strongly believe that Galena has done this to make a point. She knows what you want in a woman, and has decided to keep from being that. Maybe to attract normally wanted attention or possibly to just flat out irritate you."

"Do you think she could get trapped in this kind of behavior?"

"Jesse, I don't understand how her mind is working well enough to answer you. Like I said, I'm not a psychiatrist. I've seen people change after a traumatic event in their lives, but I can't say if Galena will permanently take on this behavior."

"Thanks, Shyla; I'll let you finish packing."

"Feel free to come talk to me anytime you want."

"I don't know what we're going to do with out you. In the last few weeks you've become an important part of the team."

"Thank you Jesse. You aren't going to be loosing me though. I have a few reasons to come and visit often," she smiled slightly, "and any of you can call me whenever you want."

"Thanks Shyla."

He left the room and left Shyla to her packing. He walked down the hall to Galena's room and paused when he saw that the door was open. The girl was sitting in the floor leaned against her closet door reading a book. "Having fun?" he asked.

Galena looked up to see Jesse standing in the doorframe and set the book down. "Poetry. I picked up the habit from my cousin. He'd send me books for my birthday and Christmas even if he didn't have a thing to do with me the rest of the year."

"So both of you are poetry lovers."

"Yeah, I spent hours reading poetry to you during the weeks I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Shal didn't tell me that, but then she's been quiet lately."

"She's protecting you, like always. Adam said it might help pull you back since I had read to you a lot when we were dating."

"You've got a soothing voice, Galena."

"That's what he said. When he had you in the lab he said that hearing my voice seemed to help you a lot."

"Thank you."

"You've got nothing to thank me for. I'd do it for any member of the team."

"I've got every reason to thank you. For six weeks you sat waiting for me to wake up, and when I did you got hurt because I couldn't remember you. Galena, I know that you've chosen to pretend that you don't love me, but I still want a chance to find out who you are."

"I'm going to give you a chance to get to know me, but I'm not pretending. Jesse, you aren't the person I loved. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget what has happened to us over the last several weeks, I am starting to think you were right to say we should only be friends."

"Galena, don't shut me out, please."

"I'm not shutting you out. I don't regret anything we did," she hesitated for a minute "but I can't imagine ever doing those things again. I'm going to give you every chance to remember me, but I'm not going back to the relationship we had."

"Don't tell me that you want to forget it all. You did so much for me over the last year that I can't imagine you not wanting to get back together. I may not know what we were to each other in the end, but I do know that the way you've been acting couldn't be the real you."

"You know who my cousin is. I'm like him in more ways than you'll ever know." Her eyes flashed with fire as she looked at him.

"When we talked two weeks ago you weren't anything like your cousin is or used to be. You are the only person who has understood when I've told the truth about what happened between me and Juls."

"I've made my choice, Kilmartin." she forced her voice to remain steady and tried to inject as much poison into her voice as she could. "I don't want our relationship back."

"You can say whatever you want to, Galena. No matter how much you believe it I never will. If you didn't love me why did you spend six weeks by my side? Why did you say that you wouldn't have known what to do with out me? Why did you go running out of the room crying when I couldn't remember you?"

"I don't love you, Jesse! I did, but we were wrong for each other."

Jesse stood quietly as he watched her hazel eyes fill with tears. He hesitated a moment, but then stepped into the room, sat down next the Galena, and wrapped her small form in his arms. Although she was surprised by his action she relaxed into the embrace and let her tears flow. When she finally stopped crying she pulled away from him and looked into his blue eyes that were full of concern.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Don't hurt yourself. We all love you."

"I know, Jesse, I know."

"Why don't you save some of those tears for the airport? Shyla's gonna be disappointed if you don't cry when she leaves." he said as he smiled at the girl and gently brushed away her tears.

She laughed slightly and smiled. "You're too good to me, Jess. I tell you that I don't love you anymore, and you still take care of me when I start crying."

"No one can be too good for you, and I will always s be there to take care of you."

"Jesse, you don't have to constantly try to make me feel important. I know that I wasn't born into a good family and that because of my birth I don't deserve to be anything more than a servant for someone like you."

"I don't ever want to hear you talking like that again. I don't give a damn about birth rights or class, and if you've spent any time around me you should know that. You are just as important as anyone I know. It doesn't matter if you're from a rich family or not. The only thing that matters is what you do with yourself."

"If I hadn't met your father I'd swear that you couldn't be from a rich family."

"Not everyone who is rich is a snob."

"You're definitely proof of that. Shal and Em don't even like to go on quick shopping trips with me because I take forever to find something that I like, but you spent an entire day at the mall with me. Waiting on me to try on clothes, and then insisting on paying for everything."

"Just don't tell my father. He wouldn't understand that kind of stuff."

"I won't. You'd better got to your session with Emma. She's going to be angry if you're late."

"No session today. She's giving me the day off since we are taking Shyla to the airport."

"Jesse, I'm sorry that I got upset. It's been a hard time for me and my emotions seem to overwhelm me sometimes."

"I've noticed, but you deserve to be a little crazy."

Galena laughed and Jesse stood up and left the room.

2 hours later at the airport.

Shyla and the members of Mutant X stood outside the gate waiting for the boarding call. "I want to thank you for allowing me to visit over the last few weeks. I know that it wasn't the best time in the world for you to have a visitor, but you all did a marvelous job of making me feel welcome." Shyla said to the group.

"It was our pleasure." Emma said.

"Flight 119 for Atlanta boarding in 5 minutes." A voice came over the intercom.

"Time to say our final goodbyes." Shalimar said quietly.

"Now, Shal, it won't ever be good bye. I plan on visiting frequently and want you all to call me anytime." Shyla said as she blinked back her tears. She quickly hugged everyone and then smiled and turned to board the plane.

The group of six watched as Shyla boarded the plane and then waited until it had taken off before they left. They walked to the parking lot where Brennan, Shalimar, Emma, and Adam got into the SUV while Jesse and Galena got into the Mustang.

"It's going to be weird not having Shyla around." Jesse said as he started the car.

"Yeah she was nice to have around." Galena answered quietly.

"I liked how easy to talk to she was. Everyone here has loyalties even if they are unspoken ones."

"Someone with impartiality is good."

"Especially now with things being so tense around home. I feel like it's my fault."

"It's not. We're all just drained. Over the last couple of months you took a six week nap, then woke up having forgotten the last eighteen months, then Shyla came and stabilize us." She finished in a hurry, not wanting to dwell on anything for too long.

"I guess that is a lot for two months." he hesitated as he debated with himself, but decided to take a risk. "Do you want to go out for dinner and then a movie?"

"No, I've got work that I need to do."

"You always have work when I want to take you out."

"Jesse, I don't want you to take me out." she felt her resolve breaking. "In fact I never want to talk to you again."

"I thought you were going to give me a chance to get to know you." He looked at her in confusion

"I changed my mind." She snapped back.

"Galena, don't give up on me. I don't know what I'd do with out you to talk to."

"I'm not Juliet!" she felt real annoyance building up in her body. "That's how you are treating me, but I am not her. If you want someone who will help you through your problems talk to Shal or Emma."

"I never said you were Juliet, and I'm pretty sure that I've never done anything to make you feel like you were a replacement for her."

"Maybe not, but you have a track record of liking to talk to girls that you just want to fuck. You did it with Juliet, and now you're doing the same thing to me."

He felt his breath catch at her words. As little as he knew about her, he had never expected the woman to throw his biggest mistake in his face like that. "Galena, I just want to talk," he struggled to stay calm, "not have sex."

"Don't try it with me, Jesse. I swear to god that I will never talk to you again. That means that I sure as hell won't be getting in bed with you again either. You know, I do regret having lost my virginity with you. I should have listened when you said that you didn't deserve it. For once in your life you were thinking straight."

"I'm sorry that you regret it," he tried to adopt a soothing tone, but found himself irritated with her, "but the past is the past. Right now we have a chance to relearn everything about each other."

"Well I'll tell you the one thing I've learned." her voice and eyes were both full of spite. "You, Jesse Kilmartin, are a total bastard who wants nothing but a wench who will sit and listen to you bitch about your life and then spread her legs for a quick roll in your sheets."

"You know that I'm nothing like that." he objected as he looked at her in surprise. "I would never go out or be with anyone who had that little respect for themselves or their body. I don't know what has you so upset, but I plan on proving to you who I really am. Then you can decide if that's what I'm really like."

"Sounds perfect to me, even though I know that it will only confirm what I just said." She turned to face the window and became stonily silent.

Jesse sat in silence as he drove. _'I'd love to know where she gets her ideas. I have never once done anything like what she's accusing me of, at least not anything I can remember. Not even the stuff I told her about my relationship with Juliet could have given her that kind of impression of me. If she wants to end any kind of relationship with me I'll let her, but damn I wish she'd let me have a  
chance.'  
_  
Galena stared out the window and watched the road signs pass by. _'Jesse I'm sorry. I just can't pretend that I'm not angry. I know that you don't like easy women, but I still wish that you'd just give up on us. I don't think I could take the strain if anything else happened in our relationship. Now if I only had the courage to actually tell you this so you could allay my fears like you used to do. I miss that so much. I'd tell you everything, and then you would pull me into your arms and let me cry it out. Almost like this morning. Hell, exactly like this morning.' _When they arrived back at sanctuary she got out of the car and immediately ran to her room and laid on her bed crying. A few minutes later Shalimar came in and sat next to the girl.

"Galena, you alright?"

"No. Shal, how can anything be alright? I'm going to loose the one part of my life that was actually good. I know that I need to let him go, and I've done everything in the world to get him to give up on me, but nothing has worked I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have Adam put me in the underground. I'm really no use here anyway."

"And when Jesse gets his memories back you want to make me look him in the eye and tell him that his fiancé, the woman who was supposed to be so in love with him that she was willing to marry him, has decided that it would be best for him if she just left and skipped out on him and their relationship? I won't do it, Galena." she shook her head. "I love both of you too much to let anything like that happen."

"Shal I can't do this any longer. Do you have any idea how much I want to be able to kiss him, to discuss wedding plans, to fall asleep wrapped in his strong arms knowing that no matter what he will protect me?"

"I know that I can't understand how you feel," she dropped her voice down to a low soothing tone and gently stroked the girls head, "but I also know that right now you and Jesse both need each other very much. He loves you. He doesn't know why or how, but he loves you. It's not healthy for you to beat yourself up. I never want to hear you suggest going into the underground again. We need you here. I really don't know what we'd do without you."

Galena sat up and fell into Shalimar's arms. Shalimar put her arms around Galena and held the girl close. The sobbing brunette cried into Shalimar's shoulder as she dealt with her emotions. It was almost as safe in the sisterly embrace with Shalimar as the more intimate way Jesse had held her every night before the club.

Down the hall Jesse sat in the computer lab trying to update the security system, but was unable to concentrate. Emma walked into the room and stepped up behind him. "Everything going alright?" she asked as she began to gently massage the tension out of his shoulders and neck.

"That feels good, Em." he tried to punch in a few more commands. "The security system is going about as well as my relationship with Galena."

"I thought you two were just friends right now."

"Right now she doesn't even want to be that. She's got some idea about me wanting to sleep with all my female friends, and is refusing to even speak to me."

"That's not like either of you. Did you say anything to her that could have gotten her started thinking that way?"

"The only thing I can think of is that I told her the whole truth about what happened between me and Juls. I finally found someone who I thought would understand what I did, and it all backfires on me."

"Galena's not taking anything well these days." Emma smiled weakly. "I made a comment about her clothes the other day and she started crying."

"I'm starting to wonder how she could be related to Bren's step family, she's too sensitive. We must be making you crazy, Em."

"It's ok." she hesitated for a second not wanting to have to break her news to him. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to my family that I didn't know about or have a chance to help with. Jess, I'm going to be straight with you. I really can't do much more to help you. My powers have their limits, and I've reached them."

"It's ok, Em." He was partially relieved to think that he could avoid any more pain from his memories. "I'm not sure that I want to remember anything anymore. Right now all I want is a night of good sleep. One where I don't wake up at three in the morning with my head spinning from my dreams."

"I'd love to be able to do that for you, but I can't help you there either." she gently kissed his cheek. "I've got to go fix dinner, but if you need anything let me know."

"Thanks, Em. You want me to help you?"

"No, I've got it covered. I think Bren might be up to a game of one on one if your interested in that though."

"I may go find him then. I'll see you at dinner.

"Alright, and Jess, give her some time. She may come back to you on her own."

Emma walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen. Jesse closed out the programs that he had opened and then went to look for Brennan.

A few hours later right before dinner.

Emma put the chicken and rice on the table as Shalimar filled six glasses with ice.

"Hey, guys, Adam is skipping dinner tonight. He says that he's got some work to do before he goes to that conference it Atlanta next week." Brennan said as he took his seat.

"In Atlanta? I wonder what reason he's got for going there?" Shalimar said with a slight smile.

"You don't think he's going there just to see his raven haired beauty, do you?" Brennan joked.

"He isn't too good at keeping it a secret that he likes Shyla." Emma laughed.

"Let's just hope that they don't put us through the emotional hell another couple I can think of has." Shalimar said. She emptied one glass of ice and placed the glass back in the cabinet.

"Shal, they both have problems to work through." Brennan said in defense of his cousin and friend.

"Jesse has got her so worked up that she was talking about going underground." Shalimar responded.

"Well my precious cousin hasn't been the nicest thing in the world to Jess. She said that all he wants is a woman who would act as his shrink and then get in bed with him."

"Guys, they just need some time. Jesse isn't to blame for how Galena feels right now, and she is only acting like this because she is scared. Give them sometime and it will all be fine." Emma spoke up. She found it mildly amusing that Shalimar was taking Galena's side while Brennan took Jesse's side; but did not want a fight to break out.

"What, you can tell the future now?" Shalimar teased.

"No, but we're talking about Jesse and Galena. They don't have nearly the insane relationship that you two did. Give them awhile and see what happens. If worst comes to worst we can send them on vacation and hope that things are better when they come back."

"If you sent the two of them off together they'd kill each other." Brennan laughed.

"Who'd kill each other?" Galena asked as she stepped into the kitchen.

"We were just talking, Galena." Brennan answered.

"OK. So I guess we have to wait on Adam and Jesse before we get to eat."

"Only Jess. Adam is working through dinner tonight." Shalimar replied.

"He's got a good reason." Jesse said as he walked into the room. "Shyla will be impressed if he has finished that project she helped him start." He smiled with amusement.

"Yeah, she would be. Do you think they will ever get together?" Galena asked.

"Maybe they will, but I don't know. Shyla is so far away and so busy." Shalimar sighed. "Not to mention Adam tries to deny how he feels."

"Well, if Adam gets married before I do I'm going to stop dating entirely." Jesse said. He flopped down in his char and took a drink from the glass of tea Shalimar gave him. "I am ready to get out of the dating game anyway."

"I plan on looking for the guy I am supposed to marry until I find him." Emma said

"Bren and I are lucky to have each other. Marriage it absolute heaven." Shalimar put in and quickly kissed Brennan.

"I think I'd rather not bother with marriage." Galena looked away from her cousin and his wife. "Too much pain if things don't work out." Galena said.

"So even if Mr. Right came along you'd tell him no?" Emma asked.

"I guess." Galena answered with a sigh.

"If I find a woman that I could settle down with I plan on marrying her and I'd never let her get away." Jesse said.

Emma smiled as she began to pass around the platters of food. The dinner conversation focused on the kind of future they wished they could have, and it was one of those rare times where they all let their walls down and shared their deepest dreams and deepest fears.

For a minute Adam took a break and headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat. When he say how relaxed every one was he stopped and watched them eat and talk. He was relieved to see that for once everyone was getting along. He smiled and then went back into his lab to work.


End file.
